It simply means that there will no longer be any print specific content, that all is created as platform agnostic, but to state the obvious that would mean digital. The print part of the process is now just production, ie- dealing with page allocation and printing plant logistics. The separate desks are no more than traffic control, they are not doing any of the driving. That way as one (most likely, um, print) shuts down the other just keeps going without any disruption.
Having the luxury of both was just a direct benefit of having the people do do so, with staff cuts it simply helps protect that content flow.
Not an entirely new concept and if anyone has failed in doing this I would guess it's because they didn't do it right.